İlknak Aquaculture

What İlknak Aquaculture does

İlknak Aquaculture (legal name: İlknak Su Ürünleri Sanayi ve Ticaret A.Ş.) is a vertically integrated Mediterranean marine fish farming company headquartered in İzmir, Turkey, founded in 1996. The company operates the full production chain from brood stock and hatchery through offshore sea-cage grow-out farms to packaged fresh and frozen product, with three hatchery facilities (Dikili, Urla brought online in January 2021, and Milas brought online in August 2023), pre-growing units, a 5,000-ton farm base, a 10,000+ ton fresh processing facility, and additional frozen processing capacity. İlknak runs a pedigree-based genetics selection program dating to 2002 and uses electrical stunning for humane slaughter. The company holds an EU export code for its processing facility.

The company produces and sells Mediterranean species including sea bass, sea bream, meagre, pagrus, and umbrina. Juveniles (250 million fry annually, with 200 million pre-growing capacity) are sold B2B to other fish farming companies, while market-size fresh and frozen fish are sold to distributors and retailers. Distribution into Europe is anchored by dedicated sales offices in Paris, Porto, and Milan, with a named long-term supply relationship with UK supermarket Morrisons in place since 2012. İlknak carries ASC, Global GAP, BRCGS, IFS, FDA, and ISO 9001/14001/22000/45001 certifications, and was the first sea bass and sea bream producer globally to receive ASC certification.

İlknak's ownership history includes acquisition by Greek aquaculture group Nireus in 2005, followed by divestment to Turkish investors in 2015. Current management is led by General Manager Georgios Meletiadis. Total headcount is approximately 80-100 (90 permanent plus 10 seasonal workers). The company is privately held (A.Ş. structure) with no disclosed funding rounds and no public revenue figures.

Name

İlknak Aquaculture

Legal name

İlknak Su Ürünleri Sanayi ve Ticaret A.Ş

Website

https://ilknak.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1996

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

İlknak Aquaculture is a vertically integrated Turkish Mediterranean fish farming company that breeds, raises, processes, and exports sea bass, sea bream, meagre, pagrus, and umbrina juveniles and market fish to European distributors and retailers, with sales offices in Paris, Porto, and Milan.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Aquaculture

NAICS

Aquaculture (1125), Seafood Product Preparation and Packaging (311710)

SIC

Prepared Fresh Or Frozen Fish & Seafoods (2092), Agricultural Prod-Livestock & Animal Specialties (200)

akta.pro primary industry

Aquaculture Harvest, Processing & Packing (Farmed Finfish/Shellfish; On-Farm Plants) (AFANADAL)

akta.pro secondary industries

Aquaculture Processing & On-Farm Value-Add (primary handling, icing, packing) (AFAEAAAN), Aquaculture & Fish Health Services (AFAEANAE)

Keywords

• Mediterranean aquaculture
• Sea bass farming
• Sea bream farming
• Fish juvenile production
• Aquaculture processing

Headquarters

HQ city

Menemen, Izmir

HQ country

Türkiye

HQ region

Europe

Offices7 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Operations, Personnel, Supply Chain, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Juvenile Fish Sales: Produces and sells premium quality juveniles for Mediterranean sea bass, gilthead sea bream, meagre, pagrus, and umbrina. Total hatchery capacity of 250 million juveniles annually. Pre-growing unit capacity of 200 million juveniles.
2. Market Size Fish Sales: Sells fresh and frozen market size Mediterranean fish (sea bass, sea bream, pagrus/meagre) to domestic Turkish market and global export markets. Processing capacity of 10,000+ tons fresh, 3,500 tons processed, 2,000 tons frozen annually.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels2 records

Core offering

İlknak Aquaculture produces and sells premium quality juveniles for Mediterranean sea bass, gilthead sea bream, meagre, pagrus, and umbrina, together with fresh and frozen market-size Mediterranean fish. The company operates an integrated production chain from hatchery to packaging and processing, supplying fish farming companies, seafood distributors, and retailers in Turkey and global markets.

Product overview

İlknak Aquaculture is a fully integrated Mediterranean fish producer offering three main product lines: juveniles (sea bass, sea bream, and meagre) produced through a genetics selection program with 250 million units annual capacity, fresh market-size fish available year-round, and frozen fish products including whole, gutted, and fillet varieties. The company operates hatcheries, pre-growing units, fish farms, and packaging facilities to control the entire production chain from brood stock to final product.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Juveniles (Sea Bass, Sea Bream, Meagre, Pagrus, Umbrina) Premium quality juvenile fish — Mediterranean sea bass, gilthead sea bream, meagre, pagrus, and umbrina — produced via a genetics selection program with recorded pedigree families, disease-free status, maximum 5% deformity ratio, and integrated traceability; sold to fish farming companies for on-growing. Total hatchery capacity is 250 million juveniles annually with a pre-growing unit capacity of 200 million juveniles.
• Fresh Fish (Sea Bass, Sea Bream) Fresh market-size Mediterranean sea bass and sea bream sold in various packaging sizes (6–20 kg) with fish sizes ranging from 50–3000 g, available year-round; supplied to seafood distributors and retailers in Turkey and export markets.
• Frozen Fish (Sea Bass, Sea Bream, Meagre) Frozen sea bream, sea bass, and meagre products including whole fish, gutted, and fillet varieties with nutritional information; shelf life of 18–24 months when stored at −18°C; supplied to seafood distributors and retailers.

Quantifiable outcome

• Reduced on-growing cycle time for sea bass and sea bream
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Prof. Batargias Costas, University of PatrasminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2017Collaboration with Prof. Batargias Costas from the Fisheries & Aquaculture Technology Dept., University of Patras for implementation of an efficient, long-term breeding program.
• MorrisonscoreOthersStarted supplying with Morrisons supermarket chain in 2012. Ilknak provides fresh and frozen Mediterranean fish products to Morrisons.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves16 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Market position

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/i%CC%87lknak-aquaculture

Compliance9 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about İlknak Aquaculture